What The Bloody Hell?
by Mystic Jellybean
Summary: Ron and Pansy can't quite stand each other, but are forced to work together on a project. For some reason, Pansy suddenly finds herself snogging Ron any chance she gets. What's going on? She can't possibly have a crush on Weasley. . . right?
1. I Blame It All On The Plants

**Author's Note:** This story is set in an alternate universe where Voldemort was actually destoryed by the first Order. So that means Harry's parents are still alive, he knew he was a wizard all along, the Slytherins aren't Death Eaters, etc. I did this because that way I can concentrate more on the relationships of people without having to rack my brain trying to come up with a suitable evil adventure for Harry, Ron, and Hermione seeing as how I am a romance writer at heart, not action/adventure so much. Also, I just like to think how different everything would be if Harry had grown up knowing he was a wizard and not having to deal with Voldemort. Also, I can throw things I want into the story and not start a revolt because it doesn't match the books (I got tired of that with my last stories). I just wanted to explain that right off, so you know. Hope you enjoy it.

* * *

**Chapter One: I Blame It All On The Plants**

Pansy followed the Gryffindor Golden Trio to Herbology class. She still couldn't believe that the three of them had gone almost 7 years and had remained friends. In fact, every Slytherin was. The girls had placed bets on which Hermione would get together with first: Ron or Harry. Pansy had said Ron. All those fights they had would have surely ended up in a fierce make out session.

As it turned out, Hermione wasn't the least interested in either Ron or Harry. Seems Miss Granger didn't even like boys. Pansy giggled as she recalled the way Hermione had taken to following Daphne Greengrass around, trying to convince her to go lesbo so the two of them could get together. Too bad for Hermione that Daphne had been harboring a five year long crush on Terry Boot.

The trio made it to the entrance of Greenhouse Five. Pansy arrived at the door just as they were going through. Ron, surprisingly, held it open for her. Usually he would have slammed it in her face.

Pansy quirked an eyebrow at him. "Such a gentleman," she said.

"Just get in already before I regret being nice to you," Ron muttered.

Pansy brushed past him and hurried to her place next to Draco Malfoy. He was grumbling, as usual. This time to Blaise Zabini. Draco absolutely hated Herbology. He usually threatened not to go to class, but one of the Slytherins always dragged him along.

For his part, Blaise was completely ignoring Draco. He was studying Ron Weasley for some reason.

"Hi," Pansy greeted, dropping her bag.

Draco just grumbled. Blaise said, "Is it just me or does Weasley look really good today?"

Pansy and Draco both stared at him. Pansy looked over at Ron. Studying him for a minute she realized that he did look good. Better than usual. Kind of cute, actually. Interesting.

"I can't believe you're both ogling Weasley," Draco said. "I now have to find new friends."

"Oh shush," Pansy said. "And Blaise, you're totally right. What's going on?"

"What?" Draco shrieked. "This is not happening! You are not saying that Weasley is cute?!"

He was so loud that everyone looked over at him, including Ron. Pansy noticed he was turning red. She threw him a wink, causing him to turn even redder.

Professor Sprout decided to show up then. "Settle down, class," she called. "Today we will be starting our project for this term. Last class I handed everyone a booklet explaining the project. Today, I will be assigning everyone a partner, and then we will get to work."

The class groaned in unison. They hated being assigned partners.

Sprout took out a sheet of parchment. Holding it up, she announced, "Partners are as followed: Mr. Potter and Mr. Longbottom; Miss Granger and Mr. Finnigan; Mr. Zabini and Mr. Boot; Mr. Malfoy and Miss Abbott; Mr. Weasley and Miss Parkinson; Miss Bones and Miss Brocklehurst."

More groaning from the class. Not everyone was entirely happy with this arrangement. Ron, for instance, was seething that he had to partner up with Pansy.

Sprout simply ignored all protesting, and told them to go sit with their partner and get to work.

Draco patted Pansy sympathetically on the shoulder before bouncing over to Hannah Abbott.

"I would switch you, but you know Daphne would kill me if I didn't let her get this chance to live vicariously through me," Blaise said. He left, grinning widely, to sit by Terry Boot.

Ron walked slowly over to her. He looked so glum it was making Pansy slightly angry. "I'm not that bad, am I?" she asked as he sat down next to her.

"You're a Slytherin," he pointed out.

"Just because there have been a few evil wizards to come out of my house doesn't mean we're all evil," Pansy replied, hotly.

"Uh huh, well if you remember, Parkinson, when You-Know-Who was alive it was all of your parents who supported him. They probably raised you to be evil."

Pansy glared at him. "For your information, _Weasley_, my parents never supported You-Know-Who. My whole family opposed all he stood for from the beginning. And the only reason Slytherins and Gryffindors don't get along is because it's tradition. It's an old house rivalry that's been going on since Hogwarts was founded. Don't hold stupid things like that against me. You don't even know me."

Ron continued to glare at her, but he didn't say anything more. He silently pulled out his textbook and started flipping through it, looking for their assigned plant. Pansy sighed and did the same. They spent the rest of the lesson working in silence.

* * *

Since Ron and Pansy hadn't gotten much work on their project done in class, they agreed, however reluctantly, to meet each other in the library after dinner to work on it. Ron was already there when Pansy arrived. Sitting next to him was Hermione Granger. As Pansy drew closer, Hermione stood and waved goodbye to Ron.

"Hi, Pansy," she said as she passed Pansy. "You don't happen to know where Daphne is, do you? I have something to give her."

"Um, no, I don't," Pansy replied, eyeing Hermione curiously.

"All right, then. Have fun!" Hermione continued on her way.

Pansy sat at the table next to Ron. "So, how was your dinner, Weasley?"

Ron glared at her.

"What, we can't be civil now?"

"Why bother?"

"Uh, maybe because we have to work together for this project? I think that's a good a reason as any."

Ron turned back to his Herbology book.

Pansy looked him over. There was something different about him this year. The past six years he had always just been Ron Weasley, nobody special. He had always been average. Average looking, average grades, average at Quidditch, average, average, average. But this year he was giving off a different vibe. Blaise had noticed it first, but Pansy saw it too.

He didn't really look different. Sure his haircut was actually rather flattering on him, and he was well built for his height, but he still looked like Ron. He still had his bright red hair, and that smattering of freckles across his nose. He still wore clothes that looked like hand-me-downs, his pants were still too short, his shirts still too small . . . So what was it about him?

Ron looked up and caught her staring at him. "What?" he asked. "Why are you looking at me like that? Suddenly interested?"

"No," Pansy replied quickly. Perhaps too quickly.

"Wondering what it would be like to go _slumming_ then? Wondering what your mummy would say, or better yet, what your _precious_ Malfoy would say?" Ron spat.

"Sorry, redheads have just never done it for me," Pansy replied, narrowing her eyes at him.

"And bitch has never done it for me," Ron replied, icily.

Pansy couldn't help it; she cracked a smile. Ron shook his head at her and looked away. Pansy's gaze drifted to his notes. She saw he had doodled "Chudley Cannons" all over them.

"Still supporting the Cannons?" she asked. "How long has it been since they've won?"

Ron glared at her. "I suppose you support the Falcons then?"

"What would give you that idea?"

"You are a Slytherin."

"Here we go again with those preconceived notions of Slytherins you have. Not all of us support the Falcons. Just because Marcus Flint and Draco do, and because the Falcons have a reputation for playing violently, doesn't mean Slytherins automatically like them. For your information, I'm quite a fan of the Arrows."

"The Arrows?" Ron wailed. "Why?"

"I could say the same for you and the Cannons," Pansy said, shrugging out of her heavy school robes.

Ron was about to say something when a strangled noise came out instead.

"What?" Pansy asked.

Ron's mouth opened and closed as he gaped at her.

Pansy looked down at herself. She had the first few buttons on her school shirt unbuttoned, but nothing was indecent. "What?" she asked again.

"I can see . . . you know!" Ron muttered.

"See what, Weasley?"

"Your . . . cleavage!" The last word had come out in a whispered hiss.

Pansy laughed. "Big deal, Weasley. Grow up, it's not gonna hurt you."

"Well, put it away. Geez, Hermione would never--"

"Do you think I care if she would show herself off?" Pansy interrupted. "Some girls like to be looked at and I happen to be one of them."

"I don't need to see those bits of you!" Ron cried.

Pansy rolled her eyes. "You're such a baby." She stood up and disappeared into the stacks to search for some more books. She managed to find quite a few on their plant and decided to bring them back to their table before she dropped them everywhere. But when she arrived back at the table, Ron was nowhere to be found. Upon further inspection, Pansy saw that his things were still there, so he must have gotten up to look around.

Sighing, Pansy went to find him. It took her a few minutes, but she finally found him by the wall, up on one of the ladders, trying to reach a book on the tallest shelf. She walked closer, studying him as she did so. He was stretching a long ways rather than simply moving the ladder over. The bottom of his shirt had ridden up slightly and Pansy could make out a thin trail of red hair from his bellybutton down to his pants.

Pansy looked up at him. "All right there, Weasley?"

Ron, startled, dropped the book he had just grabbed. It landed directly on Pansy's head.

She stumbled slightly from the impact. Ron jumped down off the ladder and helped her sit down on the floor. Kneeling beside her, he inspected the top of her head. Pansy looked up at him, tears in her eyes. She refused to cry in front of him, no matter how much pain she was in. His fingers were soothing as he pushed them through her hair and she almost told him to keep going when he stopped.

"You're not bleeding or anything," he said.

"You're such a prat," Pansy said with a groan.

"It's not like I meant to drop the book on your head."

"Maybe if you could actually hold on to something. No wonder you're rubbish at Quidditch."

"Hey, I've gotten a lot better!"

"Is that what Potter's been whispering to you in bed every night?"

Ron glared at her. "I thought we were trying to be civil."

"So did I. And then you went and threw a book at me."

"I did not throw the book at you!"

Pansy rubbed the top of her head. She stood up, using the shelves for support. She spied the book lying on the floor so she went to grab it, only Ron had went for it at the same time, and they smacked their heads together.

"Fuck!" Pansy yelled, not bothering to hold back the tears this time.

Ron rubbed his own head. "Dammit, Parkinson!" Then he saw her crying. He groaned and pulled her into his arms as he gave her a comforting hug.

Pansy struggled to get out of his grip. "Get off of me!" she cried.

"I was only trying to help," Ron said.

"Don't bother, I just keep getting hurt." She sighed. "Maybe we should work on this tomorrow night. I need to go lie down." Ron nodded and Pansy went to go collect her things. She headed quickly back to the Slytherin dormitories.

* * *

That night, Pansy dreamt of Ron. He was the white knight to her damsel in distress, but he kept ruining everything. And then he kissed her, and Pansy's world spun upside down.

She woke up screaming.

"What's wrong?" Daphne murmured from her bed. Millicent groaned.

"I blame it all on the plants," Pansy moaned.

* * *


	2. It's A Date

**Chapter Two: It's A Date**

The next morning, Pansy was accosted by Daphne.

"What was with all the screaming last night?" she asked, placing a sparkly silver headband in her dark red hair.

"Where did you get that headband?" Pansy pried.

"Granger gave it to me. She's been giving me lots of gifts lately. And don't avoid the question. Fess up."

"It was nothing. I just had a nightmare."

"What were you dreaming about?"

Pansy found her hairbrush and started brushing her hair. "Ron Weasley."

Daphne shuddered. "I'd be screaming too."

"He's not that bad," Pansy said.

"He's a Gryffindor. No thanks."

Pansy shrugged and finished getting ready. She, Daphne, and Millicent walked down to breakfast together. They seated themselves at their usual spots around Draco, Blaise, Crabbe, and Goyle. As Pansy helped herself to some toast, she looked around for Ron. She didn't know why she cared if he was there or not, but she needed to know.

To her surprise, and the rest of Slytherin house, Ron was walking towards Pansy. He stopped at the spot directly across from hers at the table, which had him standing right behind Daphne. Daphne looked back at him with a weird expression on her face.

"How's your head?" Ron directed towards Pansy, ignoring everyone else.

"Fine," she answered. "There's a little bump, but it's no big deal."

He nodded. "What time are you out of class today?"

"Two o'clock."

"Me as well. I'll meet you in the library then?"

Pansy nodded. Ron quickly walked away. The Slytherins watched him go, then as one turned to face her. "What?" she said. "We have to work on our Herbology project."

She received a skeptical look from Daphne, but everyone else accepted her answer.

* * *

That afternoon, Pansy and Ron actually managed to get some work done on their project. Neither mentioned anything of the night before. In fact, they only talked to each other when they absolutely needed to.

After working continuously for about an hour and a half, Pansy finally threw down her quill and stretched. Ron looked up at her, then down at his watch. "Wow," he said in surprise, "that went fast."

"Are you that surprised?" she asked in amusement. "What time is it anyway?"

"Why? Got a hot date with Malfoy?"

"Please," Pansy scoffed. "Draco and I are just friends. I would never date him."

"Zabini then?"

"Blaise is gay."

Ron was silent.

"Can't come up with any more names?" Pansy asked.

"Nah, everyone else is too good for you," Ron replied.

"Ouch, that hurts, Weasley," she said with a smile.

Ron smiled back, then quickly looked away. "So, uh," he said, "I think we've got a good amount done on this project. Should we finish it up another day?"

"Sounds good to me," Pansy agreed, gathering her things. Ron grabbed all of his things as well and they left the library together. As they walked side by side down the corridor, Pansy pulled a box of chocolate frogs from her bag. "Hey, Weasley, have you tried the new flavor of chocolate frogs yet?" she asked.

"They have a new flavor?" Ron said in wonderment.

Pansy nodded. "Mmhmm. It's mint and chocolate. They're really good, here, try one." She held out one of her chocolate frogs to Ron.

He took it from her. "Thanks, Parkinson," he said.

"You're welcome, Weasley."

They looked at each other. Ron blushed and looked away.

"I'll see you later then," he said, before giving a wave, and walking off.

Pansy watched him walk off down the corridor, her gaze drifting to his nicely shaped rear end. She caught herself and quickly looked away, groaning. "Can't believe I'm slightly interested in a Weasley," she muttered, stalking away towards the dungeons.

* * *

That weekend, Pansy spent some quality time with Draco, Daphne, and Blaise. They had fun tormenting some first years, they teased the Hufflepuff Quidditch team at their practice, and they did whatever else they could find to do that would keep them from their homework.

But by Sunday afternoon, Pansy knew she had to get started on her homework or she'd never get it done. Especially her Transfiguration essay. She was about to fail Transfiguration as it was; she didn't need any more points taken away from her. So, apologizing to her friends, she grabbed her Transfiguration book and retreated somewhere nice and quiet where she would be able to concentrate.

Pansy seated herself at an empty table in the library. She sighed as she pulled out the start of her Transfiguration essay. It wasn't exactly how she wanted to spend her day, but the essay was due the next day. She got out her quill and inked it, then stared blankly at her paper. After ten minutes of staring at the piece of parchment, she threw down her quill and looked up. Ron Weasley and Harry Potter were walking into the library, talking animatedly to each other. Pansy rolled her eyes as she watched them.

They chose a table near hers, and like her, pulled out what looked like beginnings to their own Transfiguration essays. Pansy continued to watch them as they continued to talk instead of work. It looked like they were talking about Quidditch. Either that or Ron just liked pretending his quill was a broomstick.

Suddenly Harry's eyes met hers. Pansy didn't look away, even as he nudged Ron. Pansy's gaze drifted to Ron, who first looked up at Harry, then over to Pansy. Pansy held his gaze for a few moments before she finally looked away. She went back to concentrating on her essay.

Awhile later, Pansy looked back over towards Ron and Harry. Harry was concentrating on his essay, but Ron was staring at her. He burned red when their eyes met, and he quickly looked away. A few seconds later, his gaze met hers again.

Well, this was an interesting twist. He may not have realized it, but Ron had just invited Pansy to flirt shamelessly with him.

If there was one thing Pansy was excellent at, it was shameless flirting. And if there was one thing she would rather do than her Transfiguration essay, it was shameless flirting (granted, she'd rather do anything than an essay, but flirting was one of her first choices).

Pansy quirked an eyebrow at Ron. Ron watched her curiously. Pansy stretched, then slowly removed her school robes and draped them over the back of her chair. She smoothed her school shirt and skirt, then crossed her legs under the table. She slouched in her chair, then threw her arms behind it, stretching them and causing her breasts to strain against her shirt. She saw Ron's gaze drop to them and she smiled.

Ron quickly looked away, blushing maroon. But there he was, looking at her again, a few seconds later.

Grinning, Pansy stood. She slowly walked towards them, hips swaying gently. Ron watched her closely. As Pansy passed their table, she shot Ron a wink, then continued on into the shelves. She walked a few steps then looked back over her shoulder. Ron had turned in his seat and was watching her walk away, eyes glued to her backside. He glanced up at her face, and she threw him a 'come and get me' look. Then she disappeared into the stacks.

She paused a few rows in, settling into a darkened corner. To her surprise, a minute later, Ron appeared at the end of the aisle.

"Wow, Weasley, I didn't expect you to follow me," Pansy said with a laugh.

Ron glared at her as he stalked up to her. "What the hell, Parkinson?"

"What the hell what?" she replied.

"What the hell are you doing?"

"I'm trying to work on my Transfiguration essay. What are you doing?"

"Looks to me like you're trying to seduce me in the stacks."

Pansy giggled. "Seduce you? Why would I do that? I'm not desperate."

"Then what are you doing winking at me and shoving those," he gestured to her breasts, "at me?"

"Do you have a problem with a girl stretching? Maybe you should stop staring at me."

"I wasn't staring at you!"

"Yeah, right," Pansy scoffed. "And I'm Professor McGonagall."

Ron's eyes burned into hers. "You are most definitely not McGonagall."

Pansy suddenly found it very hard to breathe. Ron leaned in closer to her. Pansy backed up until she ran into the shelf behind her. Ron inched his way closer. She looked into his eyes, noticing they were very dark. Apparently, she wasn't the only one who was good at shameless flirting.

Ron was standing mere inches away from her. Pansy could smell him. He smelled like soap. She liked it. She couldn't resist the urge to place her hand on his chest. Ron's breath hitched in his throat. Pansy could feel the hardness of his chest through his school shirt.

Someone coughed nearby. Pansy and Ron sprang apart guiltily. Without a word, Ron turned and headed back to his table.

Pansy collapsed back against the shelf, breathing a little unsteadily. What had just happened? Ron had just made her feel a little lightheaded, more aware of everything. He had set her pulse racing. All with simply a look. Did she have a crush on Ron? How had that happened?

"It's nothing," she muttered to herself. "I do not like Ron Weasley. I'm just feeling a little ill, that's all."

Deciding that that must be the reason, Pansy sucked in a deep, calming breath, then headed back to collect her things. She didn't give a second glance to Ron or Harry as she left.

* * *

Pansy had carefully avoided Ron for the rest of that day. She also managed to miss him the next day at breakfast (he was entering the Great Hall as she was leaving – it made for a very awkward moment as they squeezed past each other). Unfortunately, Pansy couldn't avoid him all day. Their first class was Herbology, and since they were still working on the project they were partnered on, they would have to sit with each other.

When Ron entered the greenhouse and sat down next to Pansy, he acted like nothing odd had happened. He shouted something to Harry and Neville, passed a quill to Seamus, and glared at Draco – the usual. In fact, Ron completely ignored Pansy until Professor Sprout left them to work on their projects.

Pansy sighed resignedly, and turned to face Ron. "We're about done with this project, aren't we?" she asked.

Ron nodded. "All we have left is the write-up, and the speech. What are you doing later? You wanna meet up in the library? I know of a quiet little corner . . ."

Pansy's eyebrows rose. She couldn't believe Ron was flirting with her in class! Maybe he was trying to make her feel uncomfortable. Well, if that was the case, then Ron Weasley had a thing or two to learn about Pansy Parkinson.

She turned toward him. "And what might we be doing in that quiet little corner?" she asked in a low voice.

Ron managed not to blush. "Studying," he said, simply. "Uninterrupted."

Pansy watched his eyes heat up and burn into hers. "I do love my uninterrupted study time." She could scarcely believe she was being flirty with Weasley of all people. That was twice in two days.

Ron cleared his throat. "Uh, let's get started on the speech part."

Pansy and Ron worked diligently on their project for the rest of class. They didn't get much done though, seeing as how they kept distracting each other. They didn't mean to, but every so often they would brush hands or legs and then look at each other and blush. Then they would try to focus but ended up spending some quality time daydreaming.

Finally class ended, and Pansy and Ron parted ways without saying goodbye.

They had every class together that day, but luckily they didn't sit near each other at all. Although, in the classes where Pansy sat behind Ron, she found herself spending the time gazing at the back of his head. Her behavior was starting to worry her. She had never acted like this before. And why now? Why with Weasley?

At dinner, Draco asked her why she had seemed so distant all day long. Pansy claimed she didn't know what he was talking about.

And then Blaise asked her why Ron kept staring at her.

Pansy glanced over at the Gryffindor table, and, sure enough, Ron was looking at her. He quickly looked away, though, when he noticed Draco, Daphne, and Blaise were all glaring at him. The three of them looked towards Pansy expectantly.

"What? I don't know why he keeps staring at me," she lied. "Maybe he thinks I'm cute or something."

"Poor thing," Daphne said, shaking her head.

* * *

Ron was so embarrassed that he had just been caught by the Slytherins as he gazed at Pansy. He couldn't help it; his eyes just kept being drawn to her. He had to get out of there; he couldn't stay this close to her.

Ron excused himself from the table and made his way into the Entrance Hall, where he was bombarded by Pansy. "Did you run from dinner to catch me?" he asked her. "Whatever will your housemates say?"

"Oh I just told them I had to piddle really badly," Pansy replied casually.

"So what's up? Just couldn't spend even a few minutes without me, eh?" Ron didn't know what it was but lately he couldn't seem to stop himself from flirting with Pansy whenever he saw her. It was weird because he had never thought of her as a girl he could date before. Now that was all he could think about.

It almost worried him a little. It was Pansy Parkinson, Princess of Slytherin. Her favorite pastimes included tormenting Ron and the other Gryffindors, and, more likely than not, sacrificing small children to evil dark lords. And that wasn't the only thing bothering him. What would his mum say if she knew he suddenly had a crush (no matter how small it was or how much Ron denied it) on a Parkinson? Ron didn't know why, but his parents _hated_ the Parkinson family. He figured it was probably just because they had most likely supported You-Know-Who back in the day.

It didn't seem to matter, though, that Pansy was a Slytherin and a Parkinson to boot, Ron wanted to make-out with her.

"I think we need to talk," Pansy said, suddenly looking very serious. "Somewhere private."

"Okay." Ron let her drag him all the way to the dungeons. He leaned up against the wall in an empty corridor.

Pansy began to pace. "Look," she stated, "I think you know as well as I do that something strange is going on between us."

"It's not that strange," Ron began.

"It is for a Slytherin and a Gryffindor!" Pansy interjected. She sighed. "We're just not supposed to be flirting with each other. Merlin, what would my friends say? What would my parents say if they found out I was _flirting_ with a _Weasley_!?"

"Parkinson, relax. It's not like we have to tell anybody," Ron reasoned. "We can keep this a secret."

"A secret?" Pansy murmured thoughtfully. "That would almost make it more exciting."

Ron rolled his eyes. "You Slytherins and your bad behaviors."

Pansy glared at him. "You haven't seemed to mind it lately."

Ron looked her over for a minute. "Do you want to go to Hogsmeade with me?" he asked.

"What?" Pansy squeaked.

"There's a Hogsmeade visit this weekend. Would you like to go with me?"

Pansy stared at him, unblinkingly.

After a whole minute of this, Ron tried again. "I thought it might be nice to go together and see what comes of it. We keep flirting with each other, maybe we like each other and are just denying it. Maybe a date would clear all of this up for us."

"A date? With you?"

Ron nodded.

Pansy cleared her throat and straightened her shirt. "All right then. I'll go on a date with you. But don't expect sex or anything."

Ron blushed. "Why would I expect sex?"

Pansy shrugged. "Boys seem to think that I'll put out for them."

"Oh."

"I only kiss on the first date. I've never even had sex."

"Oh," Ron said again, blushing even more furiously.

Pansy's eyes widened. "Uh, not that we're going to kiss or anything. I only kiss guys I really like. I mean, you're Ron Weasley. I couldn't . . . _Merlin_!" she muttered.

"Right," Ron said. "Erm, I'll see you later then." He quickly walked away.

* * *

The day of the Hogsmeade trip found Pansy sitting on the floor in her bra and a short black skirt rooting in a panic through her chest. "Where is it, where is it, WHERE IS IT?!" she shrieked.

"Whoa!" Daphne cried as she got hit in the head with a pajama shirt. "What are you looking for?"

"My lucky Weird Sisters shirt! I need it!" Pansy exclaimed.

"Got a hot date or something?" Daphne questioned, jokingly.

Pansy turned and faced her abruptly. "No!"

"Okay, okay, geez. I just figured since it's your lucky shirt and you're all in a huff trying to find it . . ."

"Well you thought wrong." Pansy turned back to her chest.

"What are you up to today then?" Daphne asked. "Do you want to hang out?"

"Erm, I can't," Pansy replied, uncomfortably.

"Oh. So you have plans, but it's not a date?"

"That's right." Pansy refused to look at her.

"Who are your plans with?"

"Aha! Here it is!" Pansy cried triumphantly, pulling out her dark purple Weird Sisters t-shirt. She hurriedly jammed it on over her head, then pulled on her knee high boots. She pulled on her cloak and checked her watch. "Shit, I'm gonna be late. Uh, maybe I'll meet up with you later?" she told Daphne.

"Okay, sure," Daphne replied, uncertainly.

Pansy rushed from the room. When she got outside she noticed that most of the students had already set out towards the village. Pansy looked at her watch once again, swore, and started walking quickly towards Hogsmeade. She didn't slow down until she reached the alleyway outside of the Three Broomsticks, where she and Ron had planned to meet.

She took a few deep breaths to calm herself down. She glanced at her reflection in the window and quickly fixed her hair. And then she waited.

And waited.

Groaning, Pansy checked her watch again. Ron was supposed to have met her fifteen minutes ago. If he stood her up, he was going to have hell to pay.

There was a noise behind Pansy, and she spun around quickly only to find Ron appear out of thin air. "How did you . . ." she wondered aloud.

Ron chuckled. "Remember how we were worried about people seeing us together? Well, I found the perfect solution."

It dawned on Pansy what Ron was holding. "Where did you get an invisibility cloak?" she asked incredulously.

"I have my sources," Ron answered cryptically. "Get under."

Pansy let Ron envelope her in the cloak. She let her eyes close for a second to savor the feeling. She could feel his warm body behind hers, she could smell they way he smelled of soap, she could feel his hard muscles as he grabbed onto her. Pansy was surprised by how easy it was for Ron to get her all hot and bothered. "Where exactly are we going?" she asked as he steered her through Hogsmeade.

"I figured we'd go to the caves. No one's likely to disturb us there," Ron answered. "Don't worry, I brought provisions."

Provisions indeed. Ron must have gone on a trip to the kitchens because he had bottles of butterbeer, turkey sandwiches, apples, and chocolate cake.

"This is shaping up to be the best date I've ever had," Pansy murmured, eyeing the cake.

Ron had spread out a blanket on the floor and sat down on it. He patted the spot next to him. "Come on, Parkinson," he said.

Smiling, Pansy sat beside him. He handed her a sandwich and she took it gratefully. "I didn't know you were so thoughtful, Weasley. I'd have figured you to be like all the other boys I've dated. None of them would have thought of something like this. I'd be stuck down at the Three Broomsticks, getting ignored."

"What do you expect when you date Slytherins," Ron said around a mouthful of apple.

Pansy shrugged. "I suppose you're right."

"And anyway," Ron continued, swallowing. "How could anyone ignore you?"

"The look on your face tells me that was an insult, but I'm going to pretend you meant to mean because I'm so beautiful."

Ron grinned at her. "Maybe I did mean it's because you're so beautiful."

Pansy felt her stomach drop. It was the feeling you get when the guy you like does something that proves he likes you too. Not that Pansy liked Ron. They were just friends. Actually more of acquaintances than friends.

So what were they doing abandoning their food in order to kiss each other senselessly?

Pansy didn't get a chance to think about it, because as soon as Ron's lips touched hers, she lost the ability to think. They were soft against hers, gentle at first, until Pansy groaned with need and Ron scooted even closer to deepen the kiss.

They stayed like that for a few seconds more, kissing hungrily. Then it sunk in what they were doing and with whom. They pulled away from each other abruptly. Ron blushed and Pansy straightened her hair and clothes.

"Where did that come from?" Ron asked quietly.

Pansy looked over at him. He looked so shocked and adorable that she couldn't help giggling.

Ron looked at her like she was crazy. "Pansy, I don't normally go around snogging Slytherins. I don't normally go around snogging anybody."

"You called me Pansy," she said, slightly surprised. Ron blushed and Pansy smiled at him tenderly. "Look, I don't know what's going on between us, but I don't mind it."

"You don't?"

"I don't," she confirmed. "And I wouldn't mind continuing this thing, whatever it is, to see where it goes. It'll give us something to do at the very least."

Ron nodded slowly. "We'll just take it one day at a time and see what happens."

"Exactly!" Pansy smiled widely at him.

Ron scooted closer to her. Pansy leaned forward and pressed her lips to his. And then they were off, kissing like there was no tomorrow. They collapsed onto the blanket, hands going everywhere. Pansy bent one of her legs to fit Ron more snugly between her thighs. Ron roughly grabbed onto her hips.

Pansy suddenly started giggling. Ron pulled away from her slightly, frowning. She reached underneath her and pulled out one of the apples. They both looked at it in amusement.

Ron took the apple from her and threw it over his shoulder. Pansy giggled again, but then Ron was kissing her. They were in the middle of fully ravishing each other when Ron's watch started to beep shrilly.

"Bugger," he muttered, moving off of her. "I told Harry I'd meet him in ten minutes."

Pansy stood up, nodding. She pulled her shirt back down and smoothed her skirt. Then she looked over at Ron and started giggling.

"What?" Ron asked, amused.

Pansy leaned down and smoothed Ron's hair. "You look very rumpled," she stated, giggling again.

Ron looked down at his wrinkled shirt and laughed. "You too," he told her. "You might want to fix your hair before you leave or everyone will know what you've been up to."

Pansy and Ron managed to straighten themselves out and clean everything up within a few minutes. Ron let Pansy leave ahead of him, then he headed out to the Three Broomsticks to meet up with Harry.

"What have you been up to?" Harry asked him when Ron finally arrived at the Three Broomsticks.

"Nothing," Ron squeaked, trying not to blush.

"Uh huh," replied Harry, giving him a look that clearly said he didn't believe him.

Ron glanced over at Pansy, who had also gone to the pub. She was talking with her friend, Daphne. Harry followed his gaze. "What are you looking at?"

"Uh, nothing. Let's go to Honeydukes."

* * *


	3. For Future Reference, You're A Jerk

**Chapter Three: For Future Reference, You're A Jerk**

Halloween came about a week and a half after the Hogsmeade trip. The students were excited for the annual Halloween feast. Ron was hoping he'd be able to find a way to sneak off with Pansy.

The day before Halloween, Ron was sitting at a table in the library, finishing up his Defense homework. He was just about to pack up and leave when some voices in the row behind him stopped him.

"Is everything ready for tomorrow night?" one voice whispered.

"Yeah, I got the spell from my brother," another replied.

Ron perked up. What could they be talking about?

"So, let's go over the plan again quickly," the first voice said. "We go down to the kitchens, John and I will distract the house elves, while Michael will perform the spell on the pumpkin juice. Then we go back upstairs in time for the feast and watch the madness ensue!"

"And everyone will know that Hufflepuff can be just as devious as the rest of them!" said a third voice.

"No they won't. We won't be telling anyone," the second voice said.

"We don't want to get into to trouble," said the first voice.

"Oh. Well, at least we'll get to see everyone else make fools of themselves!" said the third voice.

The three left amid a midst of muffled giggles. Ron turned and saw three Hufflepuff fifth years walking away. He stared after them in shock. _Hufflepuffs_ were going to pull a prank on the school?

* * *

At the feast the next night, Ron tried to tell the Gryffindors about the Hufflepuffs plans. Unfortunately, no one believed him.

"Come on, Ron, Hufflepuffs?" Seamus laughed. "Why would they want to pull a prank on the school?"

"Because no one thinks they could!" Ron cried.

"I don't believe it," Harry said.

Hermione carefully inspected her goblet of pumpkin juice. "It looks normal to me," she announced. She took a sip. "Mmm, tastes delicious!"

They all waited for something to happen to Hermione. When nothing did, the rest of the Gryffindors cheered, and then took a drink from their goblets.

Ron shook his head. "I still don't trust it."

"Aw, come on, Ron," Neville said. "There's nothing wrong with it!"

But Ron refused to drink any pumpkin juice for the rest of the night. He spent the time trying to figure out what the three Hufflepuff fifth years had done, but all that seemed to be happening was the students getting rather giggly, slurring their words, and stumbling around.

When Pansy approached Ron near the end of the feast and stumbled into his lap saying, "Ronnie, Ronnie, my lover," it finally dawned on him. The Hufflepuffs had spiked the pumpkin juice. He looked around him. Sure enough, students everywhere were displaying signs of unmistakable drunkenness. Neville and Hannah Abbot were making out in a corner; Seamus and Dean couldn't stop giggling; Draco Malfoy was red in the face and flirting with Daphne Greengrass; Harry and Ginny were talking loudly to each other about Quidditch (but Ron couldn't be sure because they were slurring their words so badly); the Ravenclaws had started up a karaoke contest with the Slytherins; and Pansy Parkinson was touching Ron inappropriately in front of anyone who cared to look.

"Pansy, stop that," he muttered, pushing her hand away.

"Aw, Ronnikins," she slurred, "dontcha wanna make out?"

"Pansy, not here, everyone will see!"

"Mmm, but you're so _sexy_."

"P-AHN-sy!" Ron gasped as she fondled him through his robes.

Dumbledore applauded the end of the Ravenclaw/Slytherin duo, then stood up and announced the end of the feast. The students all stood and stumbled their way out the doors and into the Entrance Hall. Everyone was hugging and kissing and fighting. It was madness! Slowly the crowd started to thin as people drifted off in different directions. Ron found himself and Pansy being dragged towards the Gryffindor common room. They passed by Hermione, who was in deep discussion with Daphne, and by Anthony Goldstein and Padma Patil, who were practically going at it in a small alcove.

Ron was shoved into the Gryffindor common room. He fell over one of the chairs and crashed to the floor. A minute later, Pansy pulled him upright and into her arms. She leaned forward to kiss him, but Ron ducked.

"Not here!" he cried. "Too many witnesses," he added. Ron grabbed Pansy's arm and, with one last glance around him, quickly pulled her up to the seventh year dormitory.

There was some commotion coming from Neville's bed, so Ron pushed Pansy onto his bed. She started giggling loudly. He climbed in after her and pulled the hangings closed. "Pansy, shut up," he muttered.

She started giggling slightly more quietly. Ron pulled his pillow out from under him and when he turned back to Pansy she was in the middle of unbuttoning her shirt.

"What are you doing?" he squeaked.

"Getting ready for bed, silly," she giggled. She finished unbuttoning her shirt and pulled it off.

Ron stared at her. She had on a dark green bra. "Figures," he mumbled. Now she was pulling off her skirt. She was trying to get it over her knees, but leaned back too far and started to fall off the bed. Ron managed to grab her by the leg and hoist her back up. That set her off into another giggle frenzy.

"Ronnie! You . . . you . . ." she giggled.

"Stop calling me Ronnie," he hissed.

Pansy finished pulling off her skirt, then took her socks and shoes off. She threw everything onto the floor, crawled under the covers, stowed her wand underneath the pillow, and then looked up at Ron. "Are you going to sleep?" she asked in a quiet voice.

"Yeah, yeah," Ron replied, starting to crawl under the covers.

"No, no, no, no," Pansy said, shoving him slightly. "You hafta get undressed first!"

"Oh, sorry." Ron quickly pulled his shirt off over his head.

"Pants too," Pansy said, closing her eyes.

Ron rolled his eyes, but pulled his pants off. Clothed just in his boxers, he crawled under the covers and stretched out next to Pansy.

She curled up next to him and sighed happily. "G'night."

Ron kissed her on her forehead. "Good night, Pansy."

* * *

Pansy woke quite abruptly the next day. The first thing she noticed was the pounding headache currently rendering her incapacitated. "I can't believe someone actually spiked the pumpkin juice last night," she muttered. Groaning, she dug around in her bed until she located her wand. She managed to sit up, point her wand at herself and mutter, "_expello madide_". The effect was instantaneous. Finally able to think, Pansy looked around her.

Something was wrong. The hangings on her bed were supposed to be green, not scarlet. Also, her room smelled like flowers and vanilla, not like dirty socks and musty air. She grabbed the edge of the hangings and pulled them back enough to peer out into the room. She frowned when she realized there were five beds instead of three. "Where am I?" she whispered.

Just then, something behind her moved and pushed her out of the bed. Pansy fell with a scream to the stone floor. Suddenly, the room was filled with groaning and questions of, "What the fuck?", before a group of voices muttered "_expello madide_". In the bed next to her, Harry Potter poked his head between the hangings to see what was going on.

"What are you doing here?" he croaked.

"Me? What are _you_ doing here?" Pansy cried.

"This is my room!" Harry replied.

"Huh," Pansy said. "That would explain a lot. But in that case, what _am_ I doing here?"

"Whoa, Parkinson!" Seamus yelped having stumbled over to see what was going on. "Nice rack!"

"What?" Pansy looked down at herself and realized she was only in her underwear. She shrieked and reached behind her for the sheets. They were caught on something so she tugged as hard as she could and ended up with Ron in her lap. She looked down at him, then over at the bed, and then she collapsed onto the floor, crying.

Ron quickly got off of her, looking worried. "What's wrong?"

Pansy continued crying. "My life is over!" she wailed. "I lost it to a Weasley and I don't remember it! I slept in the same room as Gryffindors!"

"Gross, Ron, you had sex with Pansy Parkinson?" Ginny cried, appearing behind Harry.

Ron yelped. "Ginny! What are you doing in here?!"

"I _was_ sleeping," she answered.

"With Harry?!"

"Yes."

Ron looked scandalized.

"Not like that, stupid," Ginny corrected, rolling her eyes. "And anyway, even if I had, it's still not as gross as you sleeping with Parkinson. It's morally wrong, Ron."

"I didn't sleep with Pansy!" Ron snapped.

Pansy looked up at him hopefully. "We didn't? Are you sure?"

"Positive," Ron replied. "Because _I_ did not get drunk last night, unlike all of _you_."

"It's not like we meant to," Dean spoke up from across the room. "Anyone know who spiked the pumpkin juice?"

"Didn't Ron keep mentioning something about Hufflepuffs last night?" said a voice from Neville's bed. A voice that was definitely not Neville's seeing as how Neville did not have a girly voice.

Everyone in the room looked over towards his bed. Dean leaned over and ripped the hangings apart. Neville and Hannah Abbot were sitting huddled together.

"Did _she_ sleep here too?" Ron questioned in surprise.

Neville and Hannah both flushed scarlet.

"Whoa, Longbottom, who knew?" Pansy said, astonished.

"People can sleep together without sleeping together," Hannah retorted.

"You're right. You don't need to sleep after you have sex," Pansy replied. Ron laughed.

"That's not what I meant," Hannah said, crossing her arms.

"Don't mind her, Hannah. Parkinson just likes being a bitch," Ginny spoke up.

Pansy shot a glare at Ginny. "You're not better than me, you know."

"Says the Slytherin girl who slept with a Gryffindor just because she was desperate and drunk," Ginny said.

"We did _not_ sleep together!" Pansy and Ron bellowed. Pansy stood up in a huff, jumped onto Ron's bed and shut the hangings without another word.

"Now you've done it," Ron told Ginny.

"So what? Why do you care? It's just Parkinson," Ginny said, angrily.

"She's still a human being."

"Then maybe she should act like one."

"Stop being such a prissy bitch, Ginny." Ron turned his back on his sister and opened the hangings just enough to peer inside. "Pansy?"

"Go away," she said, throwing a pillow at him.

Ron caught the pillow. "This is my bed, you go away."

"No."

Ron climbed in, ignoring Pansy's protests. He closed the hangings, then muttered a silencing charm.

"Do you see why we can't tell anyone about us?" Pansy said. "Look how they act towards me already."

"Maybe they would be nicer if they knew we were together."

Pansy gave him a look.

"Yeah, I guess you're right," Ron sighed.

After a moment of silence, Pansy said, "I should be getting back to Slytherin."

Ron nodded and helped her find her clothes. Once Pansy was fully dressed (and Ron had to admit to himself that he was kind of sad because, as Seamus had said, Pansy did have a nice rack), she pulled back the hangings.

"I'll walk you down," Ron said, stepping out and grabbing some pants from his trunk.

On the stairs, Ron pulled her into a kiss. "I'm sorry all this happened," he murmured.

"Don't be. At least we got to spend the night together, even if I don't remember it."

Ron grinned. "You were so drunk."

"I know," Pansy groaned. She kissed him again. "Come on!"

Ron followed her into the common room. The room was empty save for two people asleep on one of the couches.

"Oh my god, _Daphne_?" Pansy exclaimed, loudly.

The two people on the couch stirred. Ron realized it was Hermione and Pansy's friend, Daphne. "Hermione?" he gasped.

"Oh, hi, Ron. Hi, Pansy," Hermione said, sitting upright.

"Pansy? What are you doing here?" Daphne asked groggily.

"Me? What are you doing here?" Pansy demanded.

"Why isn't Weasley wearing a shirt?" Daphne asked.

"None of your business," Pansy replied. "But we have to get back to the dungeons before Snape catches us."

"You're right." Daphne stood up and brushed herself off. She grabbed Pansy's arm and started dragging her out of the common room. "Bye, Granger!" she called over her shoulder.

Pansy waved quickly at Ron.

Once they were safely in the Slytherin common room, Pansy stopped Daphne. "What were you doing sleeping in Gryffindor with Granger?"

"What were you doing sleeping in Gryffindor with Weasley?" Daphne shot back.

"I asked you first."

Daphne sighed. "I don't know. I just kind of ended up there. I was talking to her and then . . . we fell asleep."

"I don't even remember ending up in Weasley's bed," Pansy said.

"Gross, you were in his bed?"

"He's not _that_ bad."

Daphne was silent for a minute. Then she said, "Let's not tell anyone else about this."

"Agreed," Pansy said quickly. Giggling, they ran to their room.

* * *

Word spread quickly through the castle that the pumpkin juice had been spiked at the Halloween feast. For the following week, the main topic of conversation was who had done it, why had they done it, and what sort of crazy things the students had gotten up to when drunk.

Somebody in Gryffindor had let it slip that Pansy had spent the night in Ron's bed. She received all sorts of grief from the Slytherins, especially from Draco. Pansy blamed it on her being drunk and Ron trying to take advantage of the situation.

Slowly, talk of the feast died down, and new gossip was created. Pansy spent her time going to class, working on homework, going on Prefect rounds with Padma Patil, and, in the little bit of time she had left, making out with Ron.

She and Ron had learned to be very discreet. First, they would have to come up with a believable excuse to use on their friends to get away. Next, they would have to find an empty classroom or an empty passageway to meet up in. Finally, they'd be able to make out, but they always had to be on the lookout in case anyone showed up.

Pansy still could not believe that she was dating a Weasley. Worse, she actually _liked_ him. He was sweet, he made her laugh, and he was a great kisser.

"Pansy! Hey, Pansy!"

Pansy turned in the corridor to see who was calling her name. Padma Patil was running up to her. "Yes?" she asked.

"I'm glad I caught you! I need to ask you a really, really, really big favor," Padma began.

Pansy glanced down at her watch. She was supposed to be meeting Draco in the library to study for Potions together and she was already five minutes late. "Make it quick," she said.

"Right, well . . . Anthony Goldstein and I started dating . . ." Padma said, blushing slightly.

Pansy wondered what this had to do with her. "That's fantastic," she said, pretending to be interested. "You've liked him for awhile now, haven't you?"

"Oh yes! Ages! We got together at the Halloween feast, and . . . well . . ."

"Uh huh, so, what does this have to do with me?" Pansy asked, fighting the urge to roll her eyes.

"Right! Well, Anthony and I were thinking it might be nice to do our Prefect rounds together, you know, so I was wondering if you would be able to switch with Anthony so we could be together."

"Doesn't Anthony partner with Ro – I mean, Weasley?"

Padma nodded. "I just figured you wouldn't mind because . . . well, because it's Ron."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Pansy asked, hands on her hips.

"Well, you _did_ spend Halloween night in his bed . . ."

"I was bloody drunk!"

"Okay, okay! Forget I said anything! But, will you? Will you switch with Anthony?"

"I don't know . . ."

"Oh, please, please, please! Please, Pansy! I swear I'll make it up to you!" Padma begged.

Pansy had to fight to keep down her smile. Partnering with Ron on Prefect rounds was sure to be interesting. It was a fantastic excuse to get some alone time together. No wonder Padma wanted to partner with her new boyfriend.

"Oh, all right," Pansy finally agreed. "I'll let Draco know."

"Pansy, you're the best!" Padma gushed. "Thank you so much!" Padma happily ran off and Pansy continued on to the library.

* * *

Pansy and Padma had had the early shifts on Tuesdays and Saturdays for Prefect rounds. Ron and Anthony had had the late shifts on Thursdays and Fridays. So that Thursday evening at about 9 o'clock, Pansy wandered into the Entrance Hall to meet with Ron. He was sitting on the steps and looked up at her in surprise as she approached him.

"What are you doing here?" he asked.

"Did no one tell you? I'm your new rounds partner!"

Ron just stared at her.

"Aren't you excited?" Pansy asked, happily.

"How'd you pull this one off?"

"I didn't. Padma asked me to switch with Anthony because, now that they're dating, they wanted to do rounds together."

"That's brilliant!" Ron burst out. "I can't believe I didn't think of that one!"

"I would have liked to see the reaction you got from people when you told them you wanted to switch because you and I were dating," Pansy laughed.

Ron just looked at her.

"What?" Pansy asked, self-consciously.

"It's odd how this relationship seems normal to us, yet everyone else would think it was awkward and impossible," he finally said.

"Which is why we don't tell anyone," Pansy replied. "Come on, we've got rounds to do!" She ran up the stairs to the second floor.

They managed to make it all the way to the third floor before they had to stop to kiss each other. After a quick make-out session, they went back to rounds.

It was fairly uneventful. They discussed their days, current topics of interest, and, of course, Quidditch.

It wasn't until the seventh floor that things started to get a little . . . tense.

"Do you think I should cut my hair?" Pansy asked, fingering her long black locks.

"I don't care," Ron replied, looking into the next classroom.

"You don't _care_?"

"It's just your hair."

"So you wouldn't care if I shaved my head bald, then?"

"I didn't _say_ that!"

"You said you didn't care. So I can just do whatever I want, and you won't even care?"

"Are you getting mad at me?"

"Do you care about anything? Do you care about me at all?"

"I just said that I don't care if you cut your hair or not!"

"But you should!"

"Why?"

"Because you're dating me! Because you supposedly like me and you should care what I look like!"

"Look, just do whatever you want to do. It's up to you, it doesn't matter what I think."

Pansy gave a cry of outrage.

"What is with you girls?" Ron questioned angrily. "It's always _something_ isn't it? You can't be happy unless you're arguing."

"'You girls'?" Pansy shrieked.

"Just calm down already, won't you?"

"I can't believe you! You're blaming this all on me because I'm a girl?" Pansy shouted.

"No, I'm blaming this all on you because you started it!" Ron shouted back.

"You're the one who doesn't give a flying fuck about me!"

"Stop putting words in my mouth!"

"I'm not!"

"Pansy, you're being a bitch."

Pansy gasped as though she'd been slapped. She glared at him looking as though she wanted to murder him.

"What did I say now?" Ron groaned.

Pansy's eyes narrowed. "Ron, for future reference, you're a jerk," she muttered, before turning on her heel and storming off down the corridor.

* * *


	4. Holy Chizpurfle

* * *

**Chapter Four: Holy Chizpurfle**

Ron stormed his way into the Gryffindor common room, knocking things over as he went. Growling at some first years as he passed by, he walked up to the seventh year boy's dormitory. He banged open the door, kicked his bed, then collapsed onto it.

Harry looked up from the book he was reading. "Rough night?" he asked. "I heard you had to partner with Parkinson for rounds."

"Harry, she's a _nightmare_!" Ron groaned.

Harry shut his book with a loud snap. "What happened now?" he sighed.

"Everything was fine until she had to go all 'girl' on me."

"Pardon?"

"She started asking what I thought about her cutting her hair and then she accused me of not caring about her. The next thing I know, she's calling me a jerk and storming off." Ron ran his hands through his hair. "Women, I tell you. They're mental, all of them."

Harry looked confused. "Why would Parkinson care what you thought about her?"

Ron realized he had just slipped up. Oops. "Erm, I don't know," he quickly covered. "She's a girl, she automatically doesn't make sense."

"I suppose," Harry replied.

"I can tell there's something you want to say," Ron said. "Say it."

Harry shifted positions. "There's something bugging me," he began. "You never did tell us why she spent Halloween night in your bed."

"Harry, we were drunk. Who knows why or how she ended up here?"

"Ron, you were not drunk, as you made very clear to everyone else. You could have sent her back to Slytherin," Harry pointed out.

"I guess. I don't know, Harry, I was just . . . worried about her, I guess."

"Worried? About Pansy Parkinson?" Harry asked in disbelief. "There's something going on here that you're not telling me."

"I don't have to tell you everything bloody little thing that happens to me," Ron snapped. "I'm allowed to have some secrets, you know."

"Okay, okay," Harry apologized, hands in the air. "I was simply stating a fact."

"Well, I wish you'd mind your own business!" Ron yelled. He shot Harry a glare, then shut his hangings. He angrily fluffed up his pillow, then lay down. Mumbling under his breath, he tried to calm down so he could get some sleep. Eventually, he managed to fall into a fitful sleep.

* * *

The next morning, Ron woke up in a foul mood. He grumbled about how annoying girls were as he dressed. He walked down to the Great Hall alone. Upon entering, the first thing he did was glance over to Pansy at the Slytherin table. She was looking at him, but quickly looked away when they made eye contact. Ron groaned and moved to his seat at the Gryffindor table.

Ginny sat down next to him a few minutes later. "What's wrong?" she asked.

"Nothing is wrong," Ron replied.

Ginny helped herself to some toast. "Something is definitely wrong. You won't stop frowning. What happened?"

Ron sighed. "It's none of your business."

"Girl problems, huh? So, who's the lucky lady this time?" Ginny paused. "It's not Parkinson, is it?"

"Gin, seriously, leave me alone."

"Holy Chizpurfle, it _is_ Parkinson!" Ginny gasped. "What is wrong with you?" she hissed.

"What's wrong with her?" Ron asked.

"She's Slytherin! And a Parkinson!"

"Oh, grow up, Ginny. It's not the end of the world because I'm dating Pansy Parkinson!"

Ginny's eyes grew huge. "You're _dating_ her?!" she shrieked loudly enough for the whole hall to hear her.

Ron groaned and smacked himself on the forehead. "Nice going, Gin." He got up and high-tailed it out of the Great Hall before he got asked too many questions.

Well this was fantastic. Now that Ginny knew Ron was dating Pansy, the whole school would know by the end of the hour. And if Pansy wasn't mad enough at him already, this was sure to put her over the edge. Ron would just have to hope and pray that Ginny wouldn't say anything and that Pansy would forgive him.

* * *

It seemed that at least one of Ron's prayers was answered. By the end of the school day he was still getting asked who he was dating and why did Ginny make a huge exclamation about it at breakfast. 

Ginny, apparently, hadn't breathed a word about it to anybody. He would have to remember to sit down with her and talk about it, rationally.

Ron's other prayer, though, had yet to be answered. Pansy had ignored him all day long and he wondered what rounds that night would be like.

After getting into a huge argument and blabbing to Ginny, Ron wasn't sure where they stood relationship wise. Were they broken up? Were they still together? Ron didn't want to find himself single. He quite liked being with Pansy.

So at 9 o'clock that night, Ron stood on the steps in the Entrance Hall, holding a box of chocolates. When Pansy strode in from the dungeons, Ron straightened up. But Pansy breezed right past him and continued on her way up the stairs. He followed her up to the second floor. She made it halfway down the corridor before Ron was able to catch up to her.

"Pansy! Wait up!" he called.

She didn't stop. Ron ran and stopped in front of her. He grabbed her by the arms before she could sidestep him. "What?" she asked, glaring at him.

Ron shoved the chocolates at her. "Here," he said. "These are for you."

Pansy looked down at the chocolates, then up at him. She groaned.

"What?" Ron asked, worriedly.

"Dammit, I can't stay mad at you!" Pansy cried. The next thing Ron knew, Pansy was pushing him up against the wall and kissing him.

The box of chocolates fell from Ron's hands as he wrapped them around Pansy's waist. He pulled her closer against him and deepened the kiss.

They stayed like that for a few minutes. Their frenzied kissing slowed down until they were lazily planting kisses on each other.

"Pansy, we're supposed to be doing rounds," Ron murmured against her lips.

Pansy pulled away from him slightly. "You're right," she said. "We should be looking around for quiet, out of the way rooms to make sure that no one is using them." She shot him a saucy wink and started to walk away.

Ron groaned. He grabbed the dropped box of chocolates and ran after her.

Pansy had paused beside an open door. She smiled at Ron as he approached her, then, as soon as he was near enough, she grabbed him and threw him into the empty room.

"I can't believe you told your sister!" she shrieked. "I'm surprised the whole school doesn't know by now!"

Ron rubbed his elbow where he had slammed it into a desk. "I didn't mean to tell her. It just came out."

"You better be so glad that she's kept her big mouth shut," Pansy hissed, advancing on him.

Ron backed up into a chair. "I – I am," he stammered.

"Because if she had said a word to anybody, I would have had to break up with you immediately! And I would really hate for that to happen."

Ron collapsed into the chair. "What?"

Pansy sat down in the chair next to him. She grabbed one of his hands and started playing with it. "I really like you, Ron. I don't want word to get out about us because I'm afraid it would ruin everything we have. It's not ideal to have a boyfriend you have to sneak around with, but it's better than having a boyfriend everyone hates. I don't want my friends and family to turn against me because of who I like. I don't want them to constantly tell me that you're not good enough to date me, that I should break up with you, or to harass you because you're dating me. Until we can find a way to let everyone know and have them be okay with it, I would much rather keep this a secret."

"I agree completely," Ron murmured. "And I really am sorry that I let it slip to Ginny. But I'll have a talk with her and make sure she understands that she can't tell anyone."

"Thanks, Ron," Pansy smiled. She leaned over and kissed him gently. "Come on," she said, standing up. "We've got rounds to finish."

* * *

That weekend was the very much anticipated Quidditch game between Slytherin and Gryffindor. Pansy had warned Ron that she wouldn't be rooting for him as she was a Slytherin and wanted her house to win. Ron had said he hadn't expected her to root for him, but to not be too upset when Slytherin lost.

Even though Pansy was dressed from head to toe in silver and green, and was helping Daphne and Blaise hold a gigantic Slytherin banner, she couldn't help but admire Ron as he rode out onto the pitch on his broomstick. How had she never noticed how well he filled out his Quidditch robes before? She could barely take her eyes off him.

The game started out fairly boring. The Gryffindors had the Quaffle first, but they quickly lost it to the Slytherin Chasers. Ron blocked their attempted goal, and Daphne called him a dirty word. Then the Gryffindors had their goal blocked. Finally, ten minutes into the game, Slytherin finally scored. After that, it got much more fast-paced and exciting. There was so much action going on with the Chasers and Keepers that hardly anyone noticed when Harry and Draco started diving for the Snitch.

The two Seekers were neck and neck for awhile before Harry's Firebolt pulled ahead of Draco's Nimbus Two Thousand and One. Draco tried to grab onto the back of Harry's broomstick and pull him off course, but Harry was too quick and managed to catch the Snitch.

There was a loud groan from the Slytherin side that was drowned out by the cheers from the Gryffindors, Ravenclaws, and Hufflepuffs.

"Stupid Potter," Daphne muttered. "Wish I could hex him and get away with it."

Blaise nodded as he began folding up their enormous banner. "We can still have a party tonight, even though we lost."

"Yeah? And what are we supposed to celebrate?" Daphne asked, hotly.

"The fact that we're not Gryffindors," Blaise replied.

"Or Hufflepuffs," Pansy muttered.

Daphne smiled. "Or Hufflepuffs," she repeated.

Laughing merrily, the three of them walked down the stands to the ground. When they got there, the Gryffindor Quidditch team was passing by on their way to the locker rooms. Ron caught Pansy's eyes. They burned into hers and Pansy got a sudden rush of warmth through her body.

After the Gryffindors had passed by, Pansy said to Daphne and Blaise, "Hey, I think I forgot something up in the stands. I'll catch up with you later."

"Okay," Daphne said. "We'll stop by the kitchens and get some food for our little celebration." She and Blaise ran off, laughing again.

Pansy waited until she couldn't see them anymore, then walked off towards the broom shed. She was hoping to catch Ron and congratulate him on his team's win. She had to wait quite awhile until anyone showed up to put their brooms away. Most of the Gryffindor team passed by her, ignoring her, but Ron wasn't with them. They put their brooms away, then, laughing, headed back towards the castle. Pansy hid behind the shed when Draco and the Slytherins showed up. They would think she was waiting for them and then she'd have to go back to the castle and miss Ron.

When Pansy heard them leave the broom shed, she moved towards the front of the shed again. She looked towards the locker rooms, wondering where Ron could possibly be.

"Well, hello there," a voice said from behind her.

Pansy spun around to see Theo Nott leaning up against the door frame of the broom shed. "What do you want?" she groaned.

"The question is, Pansy, what is it that _you_ want?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"What are you talking about?"

Theo pushed himself off the frame and walked closer to Pansy. "Hiding from the rest of the team, coming out when they leave, knowing that I'm still here . . . it's obvious you were waiting for me."

Pansy scoffed. "Why would I want to wait around for you?"

Theo brought a hand up to Pansy's cheek; he touched it lightly. "Pansy, darling, you miss me," he stated simply.

Pansy stared at him in disbelief. She had dated Theo briefly in sixth year, but she had ended it when he started making eyes at Susan Bones. She hadn't really liked him anyway. "I don't miss you," Pansy argued.

Theo started stroking her hair. "No need to lie, doll." He chucked lightly. "How could you not miss me? As I recall, you were always quite anxious to be alone with me."

"Look, I'll admit that you are a fairly decent kisser, and that I really did like kissing you. But I have no need or want to do anything with you anymore," Pansy replied.

Theo smiled. "Keep telling yourself that, Pansy. When you finally admit to yourself that you want me again, you know where to find me." He dropped his hand from her hair and stalked off.

Pansy turned to watch him go, still in shock. Her eyes widened even further when she noticed Ron standing a few feet away. "Ron," she gasped.

"What was that all about?" Ron asked, narrowing his eyes at her.

Pansy glanced over at Theo who was now far enough away to be out of earshot. "I'm still wondering that myself."

"It looked to me like you were flirting with him," Ron growled.

Pansy's eyes flicked quickly back to Ron. "What?" she shrieked. "I was not flirting with him! He was flirting with me!"

"And you just stood there and let him?" Ron angrily pushed past her and entered the broom shed.

Pansy followed him at a run. "For your information," she said hotly, "I was telling him that he was wrong. He thought I wanted to get back together with him."

Ron turned to face her. "Do you?"

"What! I . . . I . . . why would you think that?" Pansy cried.

"You seemed perfectly fine with him touching all over you."

"He was just touching my hair!" Pansy yelled.

Ron angrily slammed his broom down in its spot on the wall. "He wasn't _just_ touching your hair. He was trying to seduce you."

Pansy stared at him in shocked silence for about two seconds until she burst out laughing. "Merlin!" she cried. "You're such an idiot!"

Ron glared at her. "Just break up with me already, don't insult me first."

When Pansy kept laughing, Ron stormed from the shed. Pansy stifled her laughter and followed him. "Ron!" she called. "For goodness sake, get back here!" Ron kept walking away, so Pansy ran up and stopped in front of him. Poking him in the chest with a finger she said, "There is no reason that I would break up with you. I really, really like you. I really like being with you. I have no feelings for anyone else, whatever it is you may think. That thing you saw with Theo? That was nothing. That was Theo being stupid and thinking that he's God's gift to womankind. Yes, I dated him briefly, but I broke up with him because I didn't like him. And I don't like him now. The only person I want anything to do with is you, so get that through your bloody thick head!"

Ron's eyes smoldered into Pansy's. Without a word, he gathered her into his arms and kissed her hungrily.

When the two finally pulled away from each other, Pansy murmured, "I'll take that as your apology."

* * *


End file.
